I got the impression that HCl is created from proton pumps. I was doing my Russian history homework yesterday and I read about Rasputin and how he survived cyanide(incredible story, he survived like 3 assasination attempts). Anyway he had a disease that inhibits production of HCl.

NaCl is a soruce of minerals, nothing more. Na and Cl are some of the most important minerals in the body. But the concentration is a fixed point(homeostazy) so eating more NaCl won't help you have more minerals in the body.
Now, Dave is right. HCl is not present in the cells of the stomach(i think the reason is obvious) so cells excrete K+ and Cl- separatly into the lumen by active transporters, and then they combine to form HCl, which is so important for the digestion process

"As a biologist, I firmly believe that when you're dead, you're dead. Except for what you live behind in history. That's the only afterlife" - J. Craig Venter

I wrote K+ instead of H+. You want the real process? Fine!
Downloading from IBO training memory:
Co2 enters the parietal cell according to concentration gradient. There, the enzyme carbonic anhidrase is present. It catalises the reaction:
CO2 + H2O--> HCO3- + H+
H+ is excreted into the lumen through a pump identical to the one plants use to create H+ gradients
Now, Cl- enters the cell through an antiport with HCO3-, so the cell solves 2 problems: gets rid of HCO3- and gets the Cl- inside the cell. Then Cl- is excreted into the lumen through an ion channel according to the Gibbs-Donnan equilibrium. This channel is only present in the part of the cell facing the lumen.

Any questions?

"As a biologist, I firmly believe that when you're dead, you're dead. Except for what you live behind in history. That's the only afterlife" - J. Craig Venter

mithrilhack wrote:I got the impression that HCl is created from proton pumps. I was doing my Russian history homework yesterday and I read about Rasputin and how he survived cyanide(incredible story, he survived like 3 assasination attempts). Anyway he had a disease that inhibits production of HCl.

LOL... Don't be afraid to ask Ozge... By the way, a cool thing to know is that specific inhbitors for the H+ pump are used in treating stomach ulcer. I don't really know what they are called, but i don't think anyone really cares so...

"As a biologist, I firmly believe that when you're dead, you're dead. Except for what you live behind in history. That's the only afterlife" - J. Craig Venter